Four Metro Atlanta Caribou Coffee stores closing April 14

ATLANTA -- Coffee retailer Caribou Coffee said Monday they were closing four locations in metro Atlanta on April 14 as part of a larger set of store closings.

The company said it will close 80 locations nationally, and convert another 88 locations to Peet's Coffee locations, including the company's remainingnine storesin metro Atlanta.

The local stores that will be closing will be the locations on North Druid Hills Road, the Norcross store on Peachtree Parkway, and both Marietta locations -- on Powers Ferry Road and on Johnson Ferry Road.

The chain, America's second largest coffee chain behind Starbucks, was acquired in December 2012 by Joh. A. Benckiser, the German company which also recently acquired the West Coast coffee chain Peet's.

Caribou Coffee released a statement from company president and CEOMike TattersfieldMonday morning that confirmed store closings along with the conversion of coffeehouses to Peet's locations over the next few months.

"Over the past few months, we at Caribou have revisited our business strategy, including closely evaluating our performance by market to make decisions that best position us for long-term growth. With that, we will be closing 80 underperforming stores on April 14th, and an additional 88 coffeehouses across Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois and Eastern Wisconsin will be converted to Peet's Coffee & Tea locations over the next 12 to 18 months. Going forward, Caribou Coffee will be made up of 468 locations across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Denver, and ten international markets. While the decisions we've made have been difficult for our team in Minneapolis, as well as our team members across the country and our guests and fans everywhere, we are working to make this transition as seamless as possible for the Caribou community. We look forward to continuing to deliver extraordinary experiences to our guests and fans, and thank everyone for their passion and commitment to Caribou. For any questions, please contact 888.CARIBOU."

According to the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, the chain recently scrapped a plan to place Caribou locations inside remodeled and redesigned J.C. Penney stores.

A Peet's spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday, that chain was looking to offer as many Caribou team members as possible positions at the new Peet's stores.

"Peet's Coffee & Tea will be expanding into several new markets starting in 2013, and many of these new locations will be current Caribou Coffee locations that will convert to Peet's stores. Caribou employees are famous for their warm and welcoming service, and our goal is to offer as many Caribou team members as possible positions in the new Peet's locations," the statement said.

In addition to the four locations closing, in Georgia, Caribou has locations in Sandy Springs, two locations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and five other locations in Atlanta. An additional store in Woodstock closed in late March, but was slated to reopen at the intersection of I-75 and Wade Green Road in Kennesaw by the fall. With the new announcements, there was no word on when or if that Kennesaw location would open.